Adjustable holder



Nov. 20, 1928.

- elbow 17 UNITE D STATES nono'rnr FORBES, or BOSTON, massacnusnrrs.

PATENT. OFFICE.

'ADJUSTABLE HOLDER.

Application filed April 22, 1927. Serial no 185,762.

The obj ect of this invention is to provide a simple and readily adjustable holder in-. eluding a rack ada ted to confine an article such as-an opened k, and means for sup- .porting the rack in various positions, per mitting convenient inspection f the confined article, the chief object being to permlt a person lying in bed to convenlently read a bookconfined by the rack, the latter being universally adjustable to any position that the reader may desire.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification,.

Figure 1 is a side view of a bed equipped with a holder em invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the same. Figure showing portions of the holder.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 1; I Figure 5 is a front view of the rack.

portion of a odying the Figure 6 is a section on line 6-'-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a section on ure 6. s

Figure 8 is a section on ure 5.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the figures.

In the drawings 12 designates a clamp, having means as clearly shown b for engagin an upright post 13 o? a bedstead at a point a ove the bedding, the post being an element of the head portion of the bedstead. The clamp is provided with a vertiline 7-7 of Figline 8-8 of Fig cal socket 14, which is vertical when the clamp is attached to the post. 15 and 18 designate members of a crane, the member 18 eing rigidly connected with the member 15 by an The member 15 is vertical and is adapted to turn and move endwise in the clamp socket 14. The member 18 is horizontal and arranged to overhang the bed, as

shown by Figures 1 and 2. Connected by a T 19 with the outer end of the crane mem- 20, having a trun- T 19,. the

her 18 is a terminal arm nion 21 (Figure 3) journaled in the arm 20 being connected by an elbow 22' with the trunnion and extendin downwardly therefrom towardthe bed. he T and the trunnion constitute a hinge connection between the terminal arm 20v and the crane member 18, permitting the arm 20 to swing in a vertical plane.

The lower end of the terminal arm is pro- 3 is'a fragmentary perspective view,

- member to Figure 4,

ball and socket joint. Said member includes an elbow 23 (Figure 6)-',-fixed to the lower end of the arm .20 and provided With a recess24 and with a cupped jawf25, and a movable cupped jaw 26, having a shank 27, movable in the recess 24, and adjustable by a clamping screw 28. l i

29 designates a rack which has fiat outer and inner sides, and is provided with means hereinafter described for releasably confining an article such as a book 30, against its outer side, and with a ball member of a universal joint at its rear side, said member bemg a spherical enlargement 31 of .a shank 32, fixed to the central portion of the rack and projecting from ball member is interengaged with the socket justment o the rack, so that it may face downwardly toward the bed, as shown by Figure 1, and may face in various other directions. The socket member is compressible' by movementiof the jaw 26 toward the Jaw 25 caused by the screw 28, to lock the the rear side thereof. The

rmit a universal swinging ad- .vided with a socket member of a universal or" ill") universal joint and maintain the rack in any position to which it may be swung.-

The rack may be bodily adjusted vertically by an endwise movement of the crane member 15, in the clamp socket 14, to vary the hei ht of the rack above the bed, and horizontally by a partial rotation of the member 15 in the socket, to move the rack toward and from a longitudinal edge of the bed. 'A

vertical adjustment of the crane and rack may be maintained by a stop collar 34, hearing on the clamp socket 14, and adjustably secured to the member section 15 by a set screw 35; The rack may by swinging the terminal arm 20 on the hinge joint connecting it with the; crane member 18, a set screw 36 being engaged with the T 19 to lock the trunnion 21 in the T. This swinging adjustment moves the rack toward and from the head of the bed.

be bodily adjusted I will now describe the preferred means 1 for releasably securing a book to the outerside of the rack 29. i

38 designates a ledge fixed to the lower edge of the rack ledge having a groove receiving the lower ends 'of the cover and back of the beok 80 when the book is opened,

the lower ends of the leaves of the book being above the grooves, turned.

so that they may be at the outer. side thereof, they I 39 in its upper side,

4O'designates a bar which is slidable on the rack toward and from the ledge 38, and is located above from the upper end thereof required by the length of the book. The bar is provided at its opposite ends with angular ears, each including a portion 4l (Figures 5 and 8), extending across an end of the rack, and a portion 42 hearing on the rear side of the rack. The bar is maintained by friction in any position to which it may be adjusted on the rack. To this end, resilient friction shoes 43, are interposed between the neck portions 41 and the ends of the rack, and are caused to hear more or less forcibly on said ends, by adjusting screws 44 engaged with tapped sockets in the neck portions 41.

Resilient clips 45, preferably of Wire, are

connected with the ledge 88, and project upwardly therefrom to bear on the exposed leaves of the opened book, each clip preferably including a shank portion 46, inserted in a socket 47 in the ledge, and a coiled portion 48, connecting the shank portion with the body of the clip. The shank portion is adapted to turn in its socket, so that the clips may be displaced, as indicated by dotted lines in Figure. 5, to permit the turning of the leaves. There may be a plurality of sockets 47, as shown by Figure 5, in either of which a clip shank may be inserted, so that the clips may be conformed to relatively wide and relatively narrow boo Similar clips are similarly connected with the bar 40 and project downwardly therefrom. The bar may be providedwith supplemental clips 49, pivoted at 50 to the bar and located between the clips 45*, the oil s 49 bein likewise displaceable.

he rack is horizontally adjustable relative to the bed by swinging movements of theorem, and angularly adjustable relative to the terminal arm by movements of one of the universal joint members relative to the other, so that the rack ma be supported at various angles permittin t e occupant of the bed to face either upwar ly or sidew ise when reading.

The vertical adjustability of the crane member 15 in the socket 14 enables the height of the rack above the bed to be varied, the

the book and at any distance collar 84 and set screw 35 maintaining the ---desired vertical adjustment. The hinge con- 1 iect ion between the terminal arm 20 and the by locking the hinge connection by tightening the set screw 36, and thus preventing swinging movements of the arm.

I claim:

For use with a bedstead and a bed thereon, an adjustable holder comprising, in combination, a clamp adapted to engage opposite sides of one of the upright corner posts or the bedstead, above the bed, and provided with a socket offset from the clamp and post; a crane including an upright member journaled in the socket and Vertically adjustable therein, and provided with means whereby it may be supported by the socket and permitted to turn therein when in any position to which it is vertically adjustable, the crane including also a horizontal member fixed to and projecting from the upper end of the upright member, and adapted to swing horizontally on the axis provided by the upright member and the socket to diflerent angular positions relative to the corner post and the bed; a terminal arm hinged to the swinging end of the horizontal member and adjustable to a vertical and to various inclined positions, means being provided for securing said arm to the crane to hold the arm in any position to which it may be adjusted; a supporting rack; and a ball and socket joint connecting said rack with the lower end of the terminal arm, said joint being provided with means whereby it may be locked to confine the rack in difi'erent angular positions relative to the terminal arm, the arrangement being such that the rack may be supported in various positions over the bed, and may be displaced with the terminal arm and the crane to leave the-bed unobstructed. In testimony whereof I have a-flixed my signature.

DOROTHY FORBES. 

